Diane is right. It may take up to two weeks before you see the full effect. His doctor will start you a the lowest dose and work up if needed. You must remember that the level of medication is based on symptom control not his age or weight like the non-stimulatants.
Appetite suppression is one of the most comon side effects. My son eats more in the evenings, after the meds have worn off. During his elementary years, my son ate nothing more than pretzals and peanut butter for lunch everyday. I fixed him more of snack for lunch. I also pushed higher calorie foods because of his decreased appetite. A snack right after school is very important and sometimes a snack before bed will help him sleep better. Sleep disturbances are another common side effect and serious one for both my son and I (both of us are ADHDers).
Weight gain has been slow. but they do continue to grow. After 6 years on meds my son is now 5'5" and weighs 125 pounds. Just watch the weight gain or lack there of.
Don't beat yourself up. Once you get to your target dose you will be very happy for son. One of the best things is the chance to interact socially and the peace that your family will get from his calmness. Once he achieves his calmer self , he will be able to focus better and will be much happier, which will make everyone else happier. It becomes a win-win situation for everyone.
Good luck.
Hi
10mg is a pretty low dose, but standard to strt with. The medication does not accumulate in the blood stream. RLA is a 10 hour (supposedly) med. So it is out of your system after 10 hours. My daughter took RLA for a while, it worked VERY well for her. She was taking 20 mg and we got about 8 hours of coverage from it. Give it a couple of weeks and then call the docotr. I'm sure they will increase the dose.
Our 5YO son was just diagnosed this past Monday with ADHD.
His Neurologist stated that he felt that his condition was very mild.He prescribed Ritalin LA 10mg once every morning.
My son can't swallow the cap so we have been giving him the med with a spoonful of applesauce followed with a glass of water for the last 3 days.
Although my wife has noticed his loss of appetite @ lunchtime, we have not seen a noticeable improvement in his behavior yet.
I am wondering if the medicatiion needs to acummulate to a certain level to be effective or if I should see an improvement right away. I already feel like a monster when forcing my son to take his " magic sprinkles " and I would hate to have him taking a drug that wasn't genuinely helping him.
Any advice would be great.
Thanks.